Lunar Meteorite: Northwest Africa 16882

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 113

Northwest Africa 16882 (NWA 16882)

(Northwestern Africa)
Purchased: 2023
Mass: 65 g (1 piece)

Lunar meteorite (troctolitic anorthosite)

History: Purchased by Larry Atkins from a Moroccan meteorite dealer in September 2023.

Physical Characteristics: Exterior surfaces are irregular shaped and sandblasted with a dark green-gray patina. Freshly broken surface reveals a gray microcrystalline interior with some scattered small vesicles.

Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) This meteorite is a fine-grained anorthositic troctolite (Prinz and Keil, 1977) with a plagioclase host (~80%), and olivine (~15%) and pigeonite (~1%) as small (10-50 μm) poikilitic inclusions, although some olivine grains are up to 1 mm in size. There are numerous very small vesicles throughout. Accessory sulfide was observed.

Geochemistry: (M. Spilde, UNM) olivine Fa_21.4±2.6, Fe/Mn=99±9, n=4; pigeonite Fs_14.5±0.6Wo_3.6±0.8, Fe/Mn=58±7, n=4; plagioclase An_96.7±0.2Ab_3.1±0.2, n=5.

Classification: Lunar (troctolitic anorthosite) based on Stoeffler et al. (1980).

Specimens: 14.4 g on deposit at UNM, Larry Atkins holds the main mass.

Randy Says…

I have not studied Northwest Africa 16882.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NWA 16882